


Where Regrets Fall

by EstaJay



Category: The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms
Genre: Gen, Linked Universe (Legend of Zelda), post-LU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-08
Updated: 2020-06-08
Packaged: 2021-03-04 02:40:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,606
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24606340
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EstaJay/pseuds/EstaJay
Summary: Four never thought that their life would overlap with the start of another hero's journey.They never thought that they would see another hero fall.
Relationships: Four & Legend (Linked Universe), Four & Time (Linked Universe)
Comments: 12
Kudos: 158





	Where Regrets Fall

**Author's Note:**

> An old livewrite that I can't remember where I was going with (plus I get the sneaking suspicion that half of it is missing)   
> I'll probably come back to it in the future and find a way to tie it to the Kitchen Sink series but for now, it's a stand alone.

Even after everything, there were secrets left untold. There was no need to know every single detail of their life stories after all.

Blue wanted to demand answers. 

Vio was curious but didn't want to disrupt the timestream any more than it already had.

Red wanted to share their side of their story to open up a conversation.

Green was just sick and tired of holding everything in.

Four gave Twilight a final hug. "...take care of yourself." They said. "And...don't be afraid to call on my help."

Twilight threw them a confused look. "But isn't your place in the timeline centuries before mine?"

The farmhand hero still has that boyish look to him. He hadn't fully grown into his jaw and the beard he would one day have would greatly mask his baby face.

_Just tell him already!_ Blue yelled.

_Giving him some hints shouldn't be too bad_. Vio added.

_It's wrong to hide it from him._ Red muttered.

_He really has the right to know._ Green said.

But Four just threw him a mischievous smirk. "We'll see each other again, country boy. Just don't take anything we say too personally, okay?"

From the corner of their eye, they saw Legend quickly glance away. 

Blue was expecting a snarky comment. 

Red wanted to offer him a hug.

Vio could see that he was hiding something. 

Green knew there were many things left unsaid. 

Then Legend approached them. "Don't...don't live a life that you'll regret." he said solemnly. 

Four was thoroughly confused. "That was awfully nice of you...you sure you don't have a cold or something?"

"Oh fuck you." Legend growled but then he swept Four but into a hug. "Thank you, all of you, for everything."

The nine heroes of courage parted ways but there were many things still left unsaid.

* * *

When Four had been attacked by the Shadow, they hadn't been in their own time. It was a blessing in disguise that they had been brought to the other heroes rather than vice versa. 

It would have taken a while to explain why there were two Heroes of Twilight. 

The Four Sword was a temperamental blade. They, or rather he, knew it back when it was first forged. Magic blades always had a temperament to them, the many trials that the other heroes had faced with the Master Sword would be a testament to that, but the Four Sword was different. It would only accept one wielder. It had shattered his soul upon its creation and therefore they were the only one who could use it.

They were the only one who could ever fight Vaati.

Four remembered being so mad when they had been pulled into the future by Queen Zelda Dusk.

Blue wanted to yell at the queen because what right did she have? 

Red wanted to cry because hadn't they done enough?

Vio wanted to know because why was Vaati free again?

Green wanted to ask why them?

Then a tall rugged man, a hero worn down by the ages, dressed in green and cloaked in a wolf pelt had approached them and begged. "Please help us Link, Hero of the Four Sword. We're so sorry for calling you here but please."

And what sort of hero would they be if they said no?

* * *

There was something calming about finally returning to the forge. 

Red was jubilant.

Blue was ecstatic.

Vio was comfortable.

Green was relieved. 

Four was finally home. 

They didn't have a Four Sword with them anymore. Both the one in the present and in the future had been returned to its sanctuary, keeping Vaati sealed once and for all. They had to relearn how to work together as one and get used to not being able to split ever again. That was one of the few good things that came from hiding their secret from the other heroes, learning to be just Four in front of other people.

But they never truly were just Four. Or rather, they could never be just Link. Red, Blue, Vio and Green could work together as one...but they could never be one again.

They continued life as a blacksmith - their craft was one of the few things that they could all agree on...most of the time. 

_The metal's too thin._ Vio noted. 

Blue growled. _No it's not!_

_It shouldn't make a difference, right?_ Red suggested. 

Green sighed. _Guys, it's just a bucket._

* * *

One day a young man quite literally stumbled into their forge. 

_Did he never learn how to walk?!_ Blue muttered as the man tried and failed to get back on his feet.

Red hushed him. _Don't be mean! Maybe he's a little... slow._

. _..he has a fairy with him_. Vio noted, focusing on a bouncing blue light hovering around the man.

But it was Green who had an epiphany. _We know him._

It was the green tunic and blonde hair. It was the pointed nose and long ears and the sharp jawline. It was those bright innocent blue eyes that would one day be clouded by sorrow and regret. 

"Welcome Link." Four said, coming down the stairs as the young Hero of Time was finally upright though still gripping the door handle for balance. 

His eyes widened, making him look even more like a newborn foal than his shaky stance already did. 

"How do you know his name?!" The fairy demanded. 

Four smirked. "Oh? So I guessed correctly?"

"What?"

"Link is a surprisingly common name." They said, picking up their hammer. "Welcome to the forge, home of Link the Blacksmith. How can we be of service?"

As the young hero left with a repaired sword, a fortified shield and a new set of chainmail "free of charge, we insist" - Four couldn't help but wonder. 

_The old man never said anything about this._ Blue grumbled.

Vio noted, _The old man was one of the first to find out about the four of us._

_Yeah and he was really REALLY good at hiding things._ Red added.

Green grinned. _Guess it'll be something we have to ask when we visit the Ranch._

In the end, none of them had been able to pin down the old man's age - physical or mental. However, Four knew where Lon Lon Ranch was. It was only a matter of waiting a couple of decades, they had enough time left in them. 

Maybe it would be enough to see their 'team dad' actually become a father.

Who wants to bet that he had a little one waiting for him back at the Ranch.

Malon didn't look pregnant though...

That doesn't mean she couldn't have been with child.

Time would be in for a surprise then. 

Sadly, that wasn't the time they were in.

They saw the effects before they heard the news.

Waves of monsters numbering in the hundreds swarmed their village. There was no warning. There was no chance to defend. 

Four was only one person, was stuck as only one person. For every monster they killed, another dozen took its place. It was overwhelming. Overpowering. Devastating. 

_We can't abandon the village!_ Green cried.

_We'll fight to our death!_ Blue declared.

But Vio scowled. _We need to find the source of this, not mindlessly hacking away at the canon fodder._

_...what happened to Time?_ Red muttered. 

With a heavy reluctant heart, they were forced to abandon their village. What good were they if they were dead? 

They tried to save as many people as they could but it was all in vain. 

It was an utter massacre with only a single survivor. 

"The battle is only over when you die." Warriors, the Hero of War and a captain who had seen more death than any of the other heroes could dare compare to, had once told them all. "So what you do is survive."

Red wanted to fall to his knees.

Blue wanted to shout to the heavens.

Vio wanted to stand in silence.

Green wanted to just stop.

Four forced themselves to make the journey to Hyrule Castle. 

It hadn't just been their village. Every crossroad, there was a monster camp. Every settlement, reduced to ash. Every path, littered with dead bodies. 

They had pieced it all together upon finally reaching the Castle. They watched as the sages sealed Ganon away in his monstrous bipedal swine form. They watched as the princess cried over a blood-soaked body. They watched as bodies by the hundreds were gathered and buried in a mass grave. 

All they could do was watch. 

Vio gave a sardonic chuckle. _So...so that's what Legend meant._

None of the others answered.

They were going to live a life without regrets. That was the single thought they all shared.

To live a life without regrets - as they cut their way through monster hordes.

To live a life without regrets - as they made their way through the new wastelands.

To live a life without regrets - as they once again found themselves at the Four Sword Sanctuary.

The Sanctuary was completely untouched. There wasn't a single sign of destruction or disrepair. It was a place completely removed from time, remaining utterly serene despite the devastation that surrounded it.

Lodged in its pedestal, right where they had left it, was the Four Sword.

This was an age of darkness, a time of downfall. 

They needed a hero. 

There was no squabbling or arguing among them as they gripped the Sword by the hilt.

They defeated Vaati twice before, they could do it again. The consequences didn't matter. They just needed the Sword _now_.

They pulled.

The Sword shattered.

Four was no more.


End file.
